After the mainland suspended the import of cherimoya and lotus mist from Taiwan, the DPP authorities accused it of being "political suppression," and the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council responded

Source: World Wide Web

On September 22, 2021, Zhu Fenglian, spokesperson of the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, answered a reporter's question.

Zhu Fenglian data map

Q: After the General Administration of Customs announced the suspension of the import of soursop and lotus mist from the Taiwan region into the mainland, the DPP authorities accused the mainland side of "political suppression" and harming the interests of Taiwan peasants. Any comments on this?

A: Since the beginning of this year, the Mainland Customs has repeatedly intercepted quarantine pests from the cherimoya and lotus mist imported from Taiwan, the Ocean Hip Pattern Mealybug, and has taken measures to return or destroy them in accordance with the law and promptly informed the Taiwan side. This pest endangers a wide range of fruit and food crops and, once introduced, poses a serious threat to agroforestry production and ecological security on the mainland. In order to prevent the risk of plant epidemics at the source, in accordance with the relevant laws, regulations and standards of the mainland, the General Administration of Customs has decided to suspend the import of cherimoya and lotus mist from Taiwan to the mainland from September 20, 2021.

Since 2020, the mainland has repeatedly informed the relevant authorities in Taiwan of the unqualified situation of imported fruits and reminded them to strengthen source control, but such a situation has not been improved. The suspension of the import of soursop and lotus mist in Taiwan is to protect agricultural production and ecological security, and to protect the vital interests of the people, which is scientific, reasonable, and completely legitimate. The General Administration of Customs has made corresponding circulars to the Taiwan side through the contact channels of the "Agreement on The Cooperation on Quarantine and Inspection of Agricultural Products Across the Straits." The DPP authorities' politicization of necessary suspension measures related to agricultural production, ecological security, and the people's vital interests, and taking advantage of the opportunity to maliciously smear the mainland and incite cross-strait antagonism, are completely ulterior motives, which shows that they have no desire to solve the problem at all, have no will to think about the Taiwan peasants, and will only further damage the vital interests of the Taiwan people.